Today's Word of Encouragement

COMING FORTH AS PURE GOLD

Friday, April 24, 2020

     He knows the way I take; when He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold (Job 23:10).

     I don’t know if you’ve thought of old Job during this pandemic, but I have. He has been a source of inspiration to me for years, and not just through times of heartache and trials. It would do us all well to go back and re-read his story in Scripture. There are many lessons to learn from him, and many golden nuggets of truth we can mine from the depths of his experience in suffering.

     The New Testament tells us that Job is a model of patience (James 5:11). In the midst of his bitter suffering (and yes, his complaining), there is the golden nugget of faith. But his was not a passive faith – Job demonstrated a tenacious faith. He was confident God was behind his trials. Through the process of testing him, God was seeking to purify the ‘gold’ of his faith. “In the furnace of affliction the divine Goldsmith was transforming Job’s life into a most precious vessel” (anonymous). The prophet Malachi says pretty much the same thing, He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the LORD offerings in righteousness (Malachi 3:3).

     There is no doubt that many of us are passing through trials and testing during this health crisis. Most of us consider it an inconvenience, an overstepping of ‘big brother’ government on our freedoms, etc. Why not think of this as a time when God is trying our metal - our faith in Him? We can afford this opportunity to let God purify and strengthen our faith so that when this crisis is over, we too can come forth as pure gold in the sight of God and others.

Pastor Martin